Lowell police to expand video surveillance

LOWELL -- The Police Department plans to expand its video-surveillance system in part by using money once set aside for a gunshot-detection system.

City Councilor Dan Rourke first proposed a gunshot-detection system in 2014, and the fiscal 2016 city budget set aside $500,000 for it. But City Manager Kevin Murphy and Police Superintendent William Taylor have since decided that investing in a system that didn't include video capabilities wasn't the best idea.

Taylor told city councilors Tuesday the Police Department now plans to take $350,000 of those capital funds to set up dozens of surveillance cameras downtown, in public parks and other spots known as high-crime areas.

It would be too costly at this point to have cameras, and a gunshot-detection system in which police would be notified immediately of a gun going off by equipment that locates the area of the shot, Taylor said. The police ultimately want to be able to tie in a detection system with video cameras that would instantly zoom in on an area where a gunshot took place, he said.

So far, police have installed two surveillance cameras at Eagle Park in Centralville and another unnamed spot using a $30,000 state grant.

Taylor also pointed to changing factors since the gunshot-detection system was first proposed. Armed robberies with firearms fell by 68 percent last year, and verified incidents of shots fired fell by 43 percent, he said.

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Unlike a gunshot-detection system, surveillance cameras can deter a broad range of crimes, the chief said.

Rourke called it "good news" that a gunshot-detection system isn't as needed now thanks to a drop in gun-related crime. Other councilors also supported the change in plans.

"I think this is a great, great idea," Rita Mercier said.

Using the capital funds for a different use isn't likely to require another City Council vote, Murphy said. The cameras could be installed by this summer, according to Taylor.

Also at its meeting Tuesday, the City Council voted to:

* Request the city manager explore creating a program to waive excise taxes for active-duty military personnel. "It is a small gesture we can offer to the men and women serving our country," said Councilor John Leahy, who made the motion.

* Request the city manager have the proper department investigate possible code violations at 350-352 Wilder St.

* Set a March 1 public hearing for a proposed $2.6 million bond to cover the city's share of repairing or replacing six small bridges. The cost of repairing or replacing the bridges will mostly be covered by a $13.4 million federal grant. The bridges are owned by Enel Green Power but will be taken over by the city upon completion of the repairs. A seventh Enel bridge has already been replaced, and an eighth is being replaced entirely by Enel.

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